Thanks for another candid review. It sounds like you don't think too much of this generation of games. The quote on "diminishing returns" sounds like it can be applied to LOTS of games this generation. Especially open world games. I thought these games had the highest potential of improvement with technology many years ago, to make an open world full of different things with different things to do.

The different things to do part seems to be the one part always lacking though. It's always, mash buttons, chase this, go to X, then Y on the map, etc is the most thought put into the actual gameplay. It seems there's so much time in constructing a world to be in, that what to actually DO in it and how much interaction you have with it is limited.

I haven't played this game, but I'm guessing the same as all the other open world games, there's very little action that actually shapes the world around you. For example, damaging building which causes a trickle down effect for the rest of the game, or solving objectives if different ways that changes the plot. Until open world games start working on this aspect of things, the eye candy and expanding worlds novelty is going to continue to wear thin.

Critic, you are not the only one to not be fond of the game, RazorBlade Mango was also unimpressed with Batman: Arkham Knight as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HOK63VvJgg (Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS to the story if you have not played much of the game folks)

Man, the 8th Gen Consoles flat out suck when it comes to exclusive games made in mind with the PC/PS4/Xbox One/and to a lesser extent the Wii U, no wonder I am fortunate enough to not by a PS4/Xbox One/Wii U respectively, it also does not help when some of the more notable/less notable games made with PS4/Xbox One/Wii U in mind often get down-ported to the PS3/Xbox 360/3DS/PS Vita/iOS/Andriod mostly being the full identical game intact, (examples include: Super Smash Bros. 2014, Mega Man Legacy Collection, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, and Hyrule Warriors are all on the 3DS along with the Wii U for all 3 Super Smash Bros. 2014, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, and Hyrule Warrior and Mega Man Legacy Collection for the PS4/Xbox One, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Transformers: Devastation, Strider 2014, etc are all on PS3/Xbox 360 along with PS4/Xbox one, and games such as Grim Fandango Remastered, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, Gal*Gun: Double Peace, and Senran Kagura: Estival Versus are all on PS Vita along with PS4 and or the other systems for Grim Fandango Remastered/Octodad: Dadliest Catch respectivly.

NX17 wrote:Thanks for another candid review. It sounds like you don't think too much of this generation of games. The quote on "diminishing returns" sounds like it can be applied to LOTS of games this generation. Especially open world games. I thought these games had the highest potential of improvement with technology many years ago, to make an open world full of different things with different things to do.

The different things to do part seems to be the one part always lacking though. It's always, mash buttons, chase this, go to X, then Y on the map, etc is the most thought put into the actual gameplay. It seems there's so much time in constructing a world to be in, that what to actually DO in it and how much interaction you have with it is limited.

I haven't played this game, but I'm guessing the same as all the other open world games, there's very little action that actually shapes the world around you. For example, damaging building which causes a trickle down effect for the rest of the game, or solving objectives if different ways that changes the plot. Until open world games start working on this aspect of things, the eye candy and expanding worlds novelty is going to continue to wear thin.

Not surprised as the Critic has been very critical to the PS4/Xbox One/Wii U respectively when it comes to exclusive in mind games of those 3 systems.

NX17 wrote:Thanks for another candid review. It sounds like you don't think too much of this generation of games. The quote on "diminishing returns" sounds like it can be applied to LOTS of games this generation. Especially open world games. I thought these games had the highest potential of improvement with technology many years ago, to make an open world full of different things with different things to do.

The different things to do part seems to be the one part always lacking though. It's always, mash buttons, chase this, go to X, then Y on the map, etc is the most thought put into the actual gameplay. It seems there's so much time in constructing a world to be in, that what to actually DO in it and how much interaction you have with it is limited.

I haven't played this game, but I'm guessing the same as all the other open world games, there's very little action that actually shapes the world around you. For example, damaging building which causes a trickle down effect for the rest of the game, or solving objectives if different ways that changes the plot. Until open world games start working on this aspect of things, the eye candy and expanding worlds novelty is going to continue to wear thin.

I've heard that The Witcher 3 did a really good job of giving you an open world full of sidequests that have significant effects on the world, the way the world reacts to you and even on what quests become available to you. The game's enormous scope might prevent the Critic from getting through it, though; maybe someone from the RPG team can do it one day?

I do not fancy it at all. Though to be honest I played two of the other games on xbox and was not very interested in them. I have not heard good things about this game so I will be avoiding it. Thanks for the review. Saves me making a mistake buying it.

I have been waiting for this review, as this was one of the games that was motivating me to get a PS4 and me and the VGC seem to be on the same page 95% of the time.

I have been reading other reviews and this one pretty much solidified my expectations. I really loved Arkham Asylum. That game is a work of art. Arkham City was superb, but I felt it got a little hokey at times (who puts pipes that periodically shoot fire in an air vent?). Arkham origins was just terrible though. It felt like they were just trying to cash in, cramming as much in to the game as possible. In addition, it was a buggy mess. Even with all of the patches, the game still crashed and froze on me multiple times causing me to lose a lot of progress. And that impassible part in the sewers? Really? Did noone test the game?

One thing about AK I have been hearing is that the Batmobile is a cool addition, but that it is really crammed down your throat. What a shame. People have been asking for that since AC, and it sounds like they didnt do it much justice.

One thing that bothered me about the fights in AC/AO was how Batman zips through enemies during a fight combo. He will fly clear across a screen to punch a guy in the head and then fly clear across the screen to kick another guy in the face. Its like a pinball machine sometimes. I always thought that looked silly and super unrealistic. I dont remember that in AA. Maybe because the spaces were more confined there, but I remember Batman doing backflips to move between enemies.

I feel like these games arent getting as much care as they should be, with the developers putting more effort in to DLC than anything else. Its like the new gaming philosophy is to sell you a basic (maybe working?) frame of a game, and then push for you to buy additional content. Im not really a fan of that.

When I upgrade to a PS4 I will pick the game up for sure, but like AO, I will wait it out and grab it when the price drops.

The problem I had with The Witcher 3 when it came out was a simple one: Open-world game design hurts, rather than helps, video games more often than not. Unlike the carefully crafted environments and areas of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, the world of The Wild Hunt is far too repetitive and tedious. Yes, there are some cool areas, but those areas are spread out across a map that was designed with quantity in mind first, and quality second. Interspersing this vast world are a whole bunch of often very repetitive side quests, entirely too many herbs and materials to farm, and lots of monsters and brigands and what-have-you. You unlock sign-posts to fast-travel you about this great big map, because asking people to actually traverse it without growing dreadfully bored would be crazy.

The Phantom Pain is quite similarly designed after you escape the prologue. Afghanistan is a great, big sprawling environment to explore. Like The Witcher 3, it’s quite beautiful, though even more photo-realistic. Sprinkled across this huge map are enemy outposts, villages, and fortifications. Mission structure is different. Side missions and main story missions unlock as you go rather than as you encounter NPCs and quest-givers, but the same basic form occurs. Fast travel is more labor intensive than sign-posts, requiring you to call in a helicopter and make landing zones safe. But again, the same design concept applies: Asking people to actually traverse these distances without the chopper’s aid would be crazy. It simply takes too long.

I first had this feeling in Grand Theft Auto IV. There was all kinds of hype about the game, yet I spent most the time seeing all these big set pieces I couldn't do anything with, and staring at the map reticule to figure out where the heck I was going to traverse the world that all looked alike. As compared to say, Vice City, which was small enough for me to know where I was at, yet felt big enough to play around in.

I don't mean this as a criticism but lately your reviews have been far out of line from what I think of games. First you panned Majora's Mask, which is one of my favorite Zelda games and a classic in my mind, then this review of Arkham Knight, which I considered easily the best game on Xbox One so far, and just as fantastic as Arkham Asylum and Arkham City before it (never played Origins).

Rookie1 wrote:I feel like these games arent getting as much care as they should be, with the developers putting more effort in to DLC than anything else. Its like the new gaming philosophy is to sell you a basic (maybe working?) frame of a game, and then push for you to buy additional content. Im not really a fan of that.

That is modern gaming in a nutshell. Make games that are just acceptable enough to the masses on first release, and focus on DLC to push the actual price of the full game well over $100.

Mention should be made that Arkham Knight is so buggy on PC, that in the face of Steam's new refund policy, WB was forced to pull the game from sale until sufficient patches could be made. To my knowledge, it's been pulled from Steam for over 2 months now.